Research Spotlight: A political education

Every four years, presidential campaigns become unique laboratories for teaching and research in U.S. political science. Harold Stanley, SMU’s Geurin-Pettus Distinguished Chair of American Politics and Political Economy, uses primaries, media coverage, campaign finance reports and voter patterns to teach his popular political science course on presidential elections. “Most election analysis is written well after the fact,” he says. “The challenge is trying to figure out what is happening while it is happening.” Nationally known as an expert in American national politics and electoral change in the South, Stanley’s current research focuses on presidential nominations, partisan change, voting rights and Latino politics. Learn more about his work at his website.